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{{Short description|American electrical engineer}}
{{Infobox scientist
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Parry H. Moon
| name = Parry H. Moon
| image =
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1898|02|14}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1898|2|14}}
| birth_place = [[Beaver Dam, Wisconsin]]
| birth_place = [[Beaver Dam, Wisconsin|Beaver Dam]], [[Wisconsin]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1988|3|4|1898|02|14}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1988|3|4|1898|02|14}}
| death_place = [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], U.S.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id= ''Optics News'', Volume 14], Optical Society of America, 1988, p. 3. {{dead link|date=July 2020}}</ref>
| death_place =
| nationality = [[United States]]
| nationality = American
| field = [[Electrical engineer]]
| field = [[Electrical engineer]]
| work_institution = [[MIT]]
| work_institution = [[MIT]]
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}}
}}


'''Parry Hiram Moon''' ({{IPAc-en|m|uː|n}}; 1898–1988) was an [[United States|American]] [[electrical engineer]], who with [[Domina Eberle Spencer]] co-authored eight scientific books and over 200 papers on subjects including [[electromagnetic field]] theory, color harmony, [[nutrition]], aesthetic measure, and advanced [[mathematics]]. He also developed a theory of [[holor]]s.<ref name = "holors">{{cite book
'''Parry Hiram Moon''' ({{IPAc-en|m|uː|n}}; February 14, 1898 – March 4, 1988) was an American [[electrical engineer]] who, with [[Domina Eberle Spencer]], co-wrote eight scientific books and over 200 papers on subjects including [[electromagnetic field]] theory, color harmony, [[nutrition]], aesthetic measure and advanced [[mathematics]]. He also developed a theory of [[holor]]s.<ref name = "holors">{{cite book| last1 = Moon| first1 = Parry Hiram| author-link1 = Parry Moon| last2 = Spencer| first2 = Domina Eberle| author-link2 = Domina Eberle Spencer | title = Theory of Holors: A Generalization of Tensors| url = https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/physics/theoretical-physics-and-mathematical-physics/theory-holors-generalization-tensors| publisher = Cambridge University Press| date = 1986| isbn = 978-0-521-01900-2}}</ref>
| last = Moon
| first = Parry Hiram
| author-link1 = Parry Moon
| last2 = Spencer
| first2 = Domina Eberle
| author-link2 = Domina Eberle Spencer
| title = Theory of Holors: A Generalization of Tensors
| url = https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/physics/theoretical-physics-and-mathematical-physics/theory-holors-generalization-tensors
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| date = 1986
| isbn = 978-0-521-01900-2
}}</ref>


==Biography==
==Biography==
Moon was born in [[Beaver Dam, Wisconsin]], to Ossian C. and Eleanor F. (Parry) Moon. He received a BSEE from [[University of Wisconsin]] in 1922 and an MSEE from [[MIT]] in 1924. Unfulfilled with his work in [[transformer]] design at [[Westinghouse Electric (1886)|Westinghouse]], Moon obtained a position as research assistant at [[MIT]] under [[Vannevar Bush]]. He was hospitalized for six months after sustaining injuries from experimental work in the laboratory. He later continued his teaching and research as an associate professor in MIT's Electrical Engineering Department. He married Harriet Tiffany, with whom he had a son. In 1961, after the death of his first wife, he married his co-author, collaborator and former student, [[Domina Eberle Spencer]], a professor of mathematics. They had one son. Moon retired from full-time teaching in the 1960s, but continued his research until his death in 1988.

Parry Hiram Moon was born in [[Beaver Dam, Wisconsin]] to Ossian C. and Eleanor F. (Parry) Moon. He received a BSEE from [[University of Wisconsin]] in 1922 and an MSEE from [[MIT]] in 1924. Unfulfilled with his work in [[transformer]] design at [[Westinghouse Electric (1886)|Westinghouse]], Moon obtained a position as research assistant at [[MIT]] under [[Vannevar Bush]]. He was hospitalized for six months after sustaining injuries from experimental work in the laboratory. He later continued his teaching and research as an associate professor in [[MIT]]'s [[Electrical Engineering]] Department. He married Harriet Tiffany, with whom he had a son. In 1961, after the death of his first wife, he married his co-author, collaborator and former student, [[Domina Eberle Spencer]], a professor of mathematics. They have one son. Moon retired from full-time teaching in the 1960s, but continued his research until his death in 1988.


==Scientific contributions==
==Scientific contributions==
Moon’s early career focused in [[optics]] applications for engineers. Collaborating with Spencer, he began researching [[electromagnetism]] and [[Ampere's Law|Amperian]] forces. The quantity of papers that followed culminated in ''Foundations of Electrodynamics'',<ref name = "foundations">Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, ''Foundations of Electrodynamics'', D. Van Nostrand Co., 314pp. (1960) (ASIN B000OET7UQ).</ref> unique for its physical insights, and two field theory books, which became standard references for many years. Much later, Moon and Spencer unified the approach to collections of data (vectors, tensors, etc.), with a concept they coined "holors".<ref name = holors/> Through their work, they became disillusioned with [[Albert Einstein]]'s [[theory of relativity]] and sought neo-classical explanations for various phenomena.


===Holors<!--'Holor' redirects here-->===
Moon’s early career focused in [[optics]] applications for engineers. Collaborating with [[Domina Eberle Spencer]], he began researching [[electromagnetism]] and [[Ampere's Law|Amperian]] forces. The quantity of papers that followed culminated in ''Foundations of Electrodynamics'',<ref name = "foundations">Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, ''Foundations of Electrodynamics'', D. Van Nostrand Co., 314pp. (1960) (ASIN B000OET7UQ).</ref> unique for its physical insights, and two field theory books, which became standard references for many years. Much later, Moon and Spencer unified the approach to collections of data (vectors, tensors, etc.), with a concept they coined as “holors”.<ref name = holors/> Through their work, they became disillusioned with [[Einstein]]ian [[Theory of relativity|relativity]] and sought neo-classical explanations for various phenomena.
{{redirect|Holor|the village in Iran|Holor, Iran}}

Moon and Spencer invented the term "'''holor'''" ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|oʊ|l|ər}}; [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] ὅλος "whole") for a mathematical entity that is made up of one or more "independent quantities", or "merates" ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|iː|r|eɪ|t|s}}; Greek μέρος "part") as they are called in the theory of holors.<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--><ref name = holors/><ref>{{cite book
=== Holors<!--'Holor' redirects here--> ===

{{hatlink|[[Holor]] redirects here. For the village in Iran, see [[Holor, Iran]].}}

Moon and Spencer invented the term '''holor''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|oʊ|l|ɚ}}; [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] ὅλος "whole") for a mathematical entity that is made up of one or more ''independent quantities'', or ''merates'' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|iː|r|eɪ|t|s}}; [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] μέρος "part") as they are called in the theory of holors.<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--><ref name = holors/><ref>{{cite book
| last1 = Moon
| last1 = Moon
| first1 = Parry Hiram
| first1 = Parry Hiram
Line 67: Line 51:
| editor3-last = Wartofsky
| editor3-last = Wartofsky
| title = For Dirk Struik: Scientific, Historical and Political Essays in Honor of Dirk J. Struik
| title = For Dirk Struik: Scientific, Historical and Political Essays in Honor of Dirk J. Struik
| url = https://www.springer.com/us/book/9789027703934
| chapter-url = https://www.springer.com/us/book/9789027703934
| publisher = Springer, Dordrecht
| publisher = Springer, Dordrecht
| series = Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science
| series = Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science
Line 73: Line 57:
| year = 1974
| year = 1974
| chapter = A Unified Approach to Hypernumbers
| chapter = A Unified Approach to Hypernumbers
| pages = 101–119
| chapter-url = https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-010-2115-9_9
| pages = 101-119
| isbn = 978-90-277-0379-8
| isbn = 978-90-277-0379-8
| doi = 10.1007/978-94-010-2115-9_9
}}</ref> With the definitions, properties, and examples provided by Moon and Spencer, a holor is equivalent to an array of quantities and any arbitrary array of quantities is a holor. (A holor with a single merate is equivalent to an array with one element.) The merates or component quantities themselves may be real or complex numbers or more complicated quantities such as matrices. For example, holors include particular representations of:
}}</ref> In modern parlance, holors are precisely multidimensional arrays of real numbers, and the terminology of holors is very rarely encountered. See the appendix of <ref>{{cite journal
* [[real numbers]], [[complex numbers]], [[quaternions]], and other [[hypercomplex number]]s;
* [[scalar (mathematics)|scalars]], [[vector (mathematics)|vectors]], and [[matrix (mathematics)|matrices]];
* [[scalar (physics)|(geometric) scalars]], [[vector (geometric)|(geometric) vectors]], and [[tensors]];
* non-tensorial geometric arrays of quantities such as the [[Levi-Civita symbol]]; and
* non-tensorial non-geometric arrays of quantities such as neural network (node and/or link) values or indexed inventory tables.
To explain the usefulness of coining this term, Moon and Spencer wrote the following:
{{Quote
|text=Holors could be called "hypernumbers," except that we wish to include the special case of <math>N=0</math> (the scalar), which is certainly not a hypernumber. On the other hand, holors are often called "tensors." But this is incorrect, in general, for the definition of a tensor includes a specific dependence on coordinate transformation. To achieve sufficient generality, therefore, it seems best to coin a new word such as ''holor''.
|source=''Theory of Holors: A Generalization of Tensors''<ref name = holors/> (page 11)
}}

Although the terminology relating to holors is not currently commonly found online, academic and technical books and papers that use this terminology can be found in literature searches (for instance, using Google Scholar). For example, books and papers on general dynamical systems,<ref>{{cite book
| last = Fijalkowski
| first = B.T.
| title = Mechatronics: Dynamical systems approach and theory of holors
| publisher = IOP Publishing Ltd.
| year = 2016
| url = http://iopscience.iop.org/book/978-0-7503-1350-6
| isbn = 978-0-7503-1351-3
}}</ref> Fourier transforms in audio signal processing,<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Rivard
| last = Rivard
| first = G.
| first = G.
| title = Direct fast Fourier transform of bivariate functions
| title = Direct fast Fourier transform of bivariate functions
| journal = IEEE Transactions on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing ( Volume: 25, Issue: 3, Jun 1977 )
| journal = IEEE Transactions on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing
| volume = 25
| volume = 25
| issue = 3
| issue = 3
| pages = 250 - 252
| pages = 250–252
| publisher = IEEE
| date = June 1977
| date = June 1977
| url = https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/1162951/
| issn = 0096-3518
| issn = 0096-3518
| doi = 10.1109/TASSP.1977.1162951
| doi = 10.1109/TASSP.1977.1162951
}}</ref> for a concise description of holors.
}}</ref> and topology in computer graphics<ref>{{cite conference
| last1 = Baciu
| first1 = G.
| last2 = Kunii
| first2 = T.L.
| title = Homological invariants and holorgraphic representations of topological structures in cellular spaces
| book-title = Proceedings Computer Graphics International 2000
| pages =
| publisher = IEEE
| date = 19-24 June 2000
| location = Geneva, Switzerland, Switzerland
| url = https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/852324/
| isbn = 0-7695-0643-7
| doi = 10.1109/CGI.2000.852324
}}</ref> contain this terminology.

At a high level of abstraction, a holor can be considered as a whole -- as a quantitative object without regard to whether it can be broken into parts or not. In some cases, it may be manipulated algebraically or transformed symbolically without needing to know about its inner components. At a lower level of abstraction, one can see or investigate how many independent parts the holor can be separated into, or if it can't be broken into pieces at all. The meaning of "independent" and "separable" may depend upon the context. Although the examples of holors given by Moon and Spencer are all discrete finite sets of merates (with additional mathematical structure), holors could conceivably include infinite sets, whether countable or not (again, with additional mathematical structure that provides meaning for "made up of" and "independent"). At this lower level of abstraction, a particular context for how the parts can be identified and labeled will yield a particular structure for the relationships of merates within and across holors, and different ways that the merates can be organized for display or storage (for example, in a computer data structure and memory system). Different kinds of holors can then be framed as different kinds of general [[abstract data type|data types]] or [[data structures]].

Holors include arbitrary [[Array_data_type#Abstract_arrays|arrays]]. A holor is an array of quantities, possibly a single-element array or a multi-element array with one or more indices to label each element. The context of the usage of the holor will determine what sorts of labels are appropriate, how many indices there should be, and what values the indices will range over. The representing array could be [[jagged array|jagged]] (with different dimensionality per index) or of uniform dimensionality across indices. (An array with two or more indices is often called a "[[Array_data_type#Multi-dimensional_arrays|multidimensional array]]", referring to the dimensionality of the shape of the array rather than other degrees of freedom in the array. The term "multi-indexed" may be a less-ambiguous description. A multi-dimensional array is a holor, whether that refers to a single-indexed array of dimension two or greater, or a multi-element array with two or more indices.) A holor can thus be represented with a symbol and zero or more indices, such as <math>H^{ij}</math> -- the symbol <math>H</math> with the two indices <math>i</math> and <math>j</math> shown in superscript.

In the theory of holors, the number of indices <math>N</math> used to label the merates is called the ''valence''.<ref>{{lang-de|Valenz}}; originally introduced to [[differential geometry]] by [[Jan Arnoldus Schouten]] and [[Dirk Jan Struik]] in their 1935 ''Einführung in die neueren Methoden der Differentialgeometrie''. In that work, they explain that they chose the term 'valence' in order to dissolve the confusion created by the use of ambiguous terms such as 'grade', ''Grad'' (not to be confused with the concept of [[Grade (geometric algebra)|grade]] in [[geometric algebra]]), or 'order', ''Ordnung'', for the concept of [[tensor order|(tensor) order/degree/rank]] (not to be confused with the concept of the [[Tensor (intrinsic definition)#Tensor rank|rank of a tensor]] in the context of generalizations of [[matrix rank]]). (Schouten and Struik, ''Einführung in die neueren methoden der differentialgeometrie'', vol. 1, Noordhoff, 1935, p. 7). Cf. Moon and Spencer, Theory of Holors, p. 12.</ref> This term is to remind one of the concept of [[Valence (chemistry)|chemical valence]], indicating the "combining power" of a holor. (This "combining power" sense of valence is really only relevant in contexts where the holors can be combined, such as the case of tensor multiplication where indices pair up or "bond" to be summed-over.) The example holor above, <math>H^{ij}</math>, has a valence of two. For valence equal to 0, 1, 2, 3, etc., a holor can be said to be nilvalent, univalent, bivalent, trivalent, etc., respectively. For each index <math>i</math>, there is number of values <math>n_i</math> that the index may range over. That number <math>n_i</math> is called the ''plethos''<ref>{{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|l|ɛ|θ|ɒ|s}}; Greek: πλῆθος "multitude" or "magnitude, size, extent, amount, quantity", here in the sense of "dimensionality (of a vector)". On page 12 of Theory of Holors, the following excerpt refers to a 3-by-3 matrix labelled as <math>A_{ij}</math>: "...its plethos, both for index <math>i</math> and index <math>j</math>, is 3." This implies that in a general setting, plethos may be different for each index.</ref> of that index, indicating the "dimensionality" related to that index. For a holor with uniform dimensionality over all of its indices, the holor itself can be said to have a plethos equal to the plethos of each index. (Both of these terms thus help to resolve some of the ambiguity of referring to the "dimension" of a holor, as well as resolving ambiguity with similar concepts in other mathematical contexts.) So, in particular, holors that are represented as arrays of [[N-cube|N-cubic]] (or hypercubic) shape may be classified with respect to their plethos <math>n</math> and valence <math>N</math>, where the plethos is akin to the length of each edge of the <math>N\text{-cube}</math>.

If proper index conventions are maintained then certain relations of holor algebra are consistent with that of real algebra, i.e., addition and uncontracted multiplication are both commutative and associative. Moon and Spencer classify holors as either nongeometric objects or geometric objects. They further classify the geometric objects as either ''akinetors''<ref>{{IPAc-en|eɪ|ˈ|k|ɪ|n|ə|t|ɚ}}; Greek ἀκίνητος "not moving/movable" or "fixed", here in the sense of a kind of invariance.</ref> or ''oudors''<ref>{{IPAc-en|'|uː|d|ɚ}}; Greek οὐ "not", as in "not akinetors".</ref>, where the ([[Covariance and contravariance of vectors|contravariant]], univalent) akinetors transform as

: <math>v^{i'} = \sigma(x^i) {{\partial x^{i'}} \over {\partial x^{i}}} v^i,</math>

and the oudors contain all other geometric objects (such as [[Christoffel symbol]]s). The tensor is a special case of the akinetor where <math>\sigma(x^i) = 1</math>. Akinetors correspond to [[pseudotensor]]s in standard nomenclature.

Moon and Spencer also provide a novel classification of geometric figures in [[affine space]] with [[homogeneous coordinate]]s. For example, a directed line segment that is free to slide along a given line is called a ''fixed rhabdor''<ref>Greek ῥάβδος "rod".</ref> and corresponds to a ''sliding vector''<ref>A vector whose direction and line of application are prescribed, but whose point of application is not prescribed.</ref> in standard nomenclature. Other objects in their classification scheme include ''free rhabdors'', ''kineors'',<ref>Greek κινέω "to move"</ref> ''fixed strophors'',<ref>Greek στροφή "a turning"</ref> ''free strophors'', and ''helissors''.<ref>Greek ἑλίσσω "to roll, to wind round".</ref>


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==

===Books===
===Books===

* Parry Moon, ''The Scientific Basis of Illuminating Engineering'', McGraw-Hill, 608pp. (1936) (ASIN B000J2QFAI).
* Parry Moon, ''The Scientific Basis of Illuminating Engineering'', McGraw-Hill, 608pp. (1936) (ASIN B000J2QFAI).
* Parry Moon, ''Lighting Design'', Addison-Wesley Press, 191pp. (1948) (ASIN B0007DZUFA).
* Parry Moon, ''Lighting Design'', Addison-Wesley Press, 191pp. (1948) (ASIN B0007DZUFA).
* Parry Moon, ''A Proposed Musical Notation'', (1952) (ASIN B0007JY81G).
* Parry Moon, ''A Proposed Musical Notation'', (1952) (ASIN B0007JY81G).
* Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, ''Foundations of Electrodynamics'', D. Van Nostrand Co., 314pp. (1960) (ASIN B000OET7UQ).<ref name = foundations/>
* Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, ''Foundations of Electrodynamics'', D. Van Nostrand Co., 314pp. (1960) (ASIN B000OET7UQ).<ref name = foundations/>
* Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, ''Field Theory for Engineers'', D. Van Nostrand Co., 540pp. (1961) ({{ISBN|978-0442054892}}).
* Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, ''Field Theory for Engineers'', D. Van Nostrand Co., 540pp. (1961) ({{ISBN|978-0442054892}}).
Line 156: Line 88:


===Papers===
===Papers===
* {{cite journal|author=Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer|title=Binary Stars and the Velocity of Light|journal=[[Journal of the Optical Society of America]] |volume=43|pages=635–641|date=1953|issue=8|doi=10.1364/JOSA.43.000635}}
* {{cite journal|author=Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer|title=Electromagnetism Without Magnetism: An Historical Approach|journal=[[American Journal of Physics]]|volume=22|issue=3 |pages=120–124|date=March 1954|doi=10.1119/1.1933645}}
* {{cite journal|author=Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer|title=Interpretation of the Ampere Experiments|journal=Journal of the Franklin Institute|volume=257|pages=203–220|date=1954|issue=3 |doi=10.1016/0016-0032(54)90578-5}}
* {{cite journal|author=Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer|title=The Coulomb Force and the Ampere Force|journal=Journal of the Franklin Institute|volume=257|pages= 305–315|date=1954|issue=4 |doi=10.1016/0016-0032(54)90621-3}}
* {{cite journal|author=Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer|title=A New Electrodynamics|journal=Journal of the Franklin Institute |volume=257 |pages=369–382 |date=1954|issue=5|doi=10.1016/0016-0032(54)90728-0}}
* {{cite journal|author=Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer|title=A Postulational Approach to Electromagnetism|journal=Journal of the Franklin Institute|volume=259 |pages=293–305|date=1955|issue=4|doi=10.1016/0016-0032(55)90638-4}}
* {{cite journal|author=Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer|title=On Electromagnetic Induction|journal=Journal of the Franklin Institute|volume=260 |pages=213–226 |date=1955|issue=3|doi=10.1016/0016-0032(55)90735-3|citeseerx=10.1.1.172.7628}}
* {{cite journal|author=Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer|title=On the Ampere Force|journal=Journal of the Franklin Institute|volume=260|pages=295–311|date=1955|issue=4|doi=10.1016/0016-0032(55)90875-9}}
* {{cite journal|author=Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer|title=Some Electromagnetic Paradoxes|journal=Journal of the Franklin Institute|volume=260|pages=373–395 |date=1955|issue=5|doi=10.1016/0016-0032(55)90140-X}}
* {{cite journal|author=Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer|title=On the Establishment of Universal Time|journal=Philosophy of Science|volume=23|pages=216–229 |date=1956|issue=3|doi=10.1086/287487|s2cid=121272117 }}
* {{cite journal|author=Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer|title=The Cosmological Principle and the Cosmological Constant|journal=Journal of the Franklin Institute|volume=266|pages=47–58|date=1958|doi=10.1016/0016-0032(58)90811-1}}
* {{cite journal|author=Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer|title=Retardation in Cosmology|journal=Philosophy of Science|volume=25|pages=287–292|date=1958|issue=4|doi=10.1086/287618|s2cid=120449655 }}
* {{cite journal|author=Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer|title=Mach's Principle|journal=Philosophy of Science|volume=6|pages=125–134|date=1958}}


==Notes==
* Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, "Binary Stars and the Velocity of Light", ''[http://josaa.osa.org/issue.cfm Journal of the Optical Society of America]'', V43, pp.&nbsp;635–641 (1953).
{{notelist}}
* Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, "Electromagnetism Without Magnetism: An Historical Approach", ''[http://scitation.aip.org/vsearch/servlet/VerityServlet?KEY=AJPIAS&CURRENT=NO&ONLINE=YES&smode=strresults&sort=rel&maxdisp=25&threshold=0&pjournals=AJPIAS&pyears=2001%2C2000%2C1999&possible1=parry+moon&possible1zone=article&SMODE=strsearch&OUTLOG=NO&viewabs=AJPIAS&key=DISPLAY&docID=2&page=1&chapter=0 American Journal of Physics]'', V22, N3, pp.&nbsp;120–124 (Mar 1954).
* Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, "Interpretation of the Ampere Force", ''Journal of the Franklin Institute'', V257, pp.&nbsp;203–220 (1954).
* Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, "The Coulomb Force and the Ampere Force, ''Journal of the Franklin Institute'', V257, pp. 305-315 (1954).
* Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, "A New Electrodynamics", ''Journal of the Franklin Institute'', V257, pp.&nbsp;369–382 (1954).
* Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, "A Postulational Approach to Electromagnetism", ''Journal of the Franklin Institute'', V259, pp.&nbsp;293–305 (1955).
* Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, "On Electromagnetic Induction", ''Journal of the Franklin Institute'', V260, pp.&nbsp;213–226 (1955).
* Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, "On the Ampere Force", ''Journal of the Franklin Institute'', V260, pp.&nbsp;295–311 (1955).
* Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, "Some Electromagnetic Paradoxes", ''Journal of the Franklin Institute'', V260, pp.&nbsp;373–395 (1955).
* Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, "On the Establishment of Universal Time", ''Philosophy of Science'', V23, pp.&nbsp;216–229 (1956).
* Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, "The Cosmological Principle and the Cosmological Constant", ''Journal of the Franklin Institute'', V266, pp.&nbsp;47–58 (1958).
* Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, "Retardation in Cosmology", ''Philosophy of Science'', V25, pp.&nbsp;287–292 (1958).
* Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, "Mach’s Principle", ''Philosophy of Science'', V26, pp.&nbsp;125–134 (1958).


==References==
==References==
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[[Category:American electrical engineers]]
[[Category:American electrical engineers]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Engineering alumni]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Engineering alumni]]
[[Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:MIT School of Engineering alumni]]
[[Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty]]
[[Category:MIT School of Engineering faculty]]
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1988 deaths]]
[[Category:1988 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:People from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:20th-century American engineers]]

Revision as of 07:02, 11 January 2024

Parry H. Moon
Born(1898-02-14)February 14, 1898
DiedMarch 4, 1988(1988-03-04) (aged 90)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin
MIT
Known forContributions to electromagnetic field theory
Holors
Awards1974 Illuminating Engineering Society's Gold Medal
Scientific career
FieldsElectrical engineer
InstitutionsMIT

Parry Hiram Moon (/mn/; February 14, 1898 – March 4, 1988) was an American electrical engineer who, with Domina Eberle Spencer, co-wrote eight scientific books and over 200 papers on subjects including electromagnetic field theory, color harmony, nutrition, aesthetic measure and advanced mathematics. He also developed a theory of holors.[2]

Biography

Moon was born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, to Ossian C. and Eleanor F. (Parry) Moon. He received a BSEE from University of Wisconsin in 1922 and an MSEE from MIT in 1924. Unfulfilled with his work in transformer design at Westinghouse, Moon obtained a position as research assistant at MIT under Vannevar Bush. He was hospitalized for six months after sustaining injuries from experimental work in the laboratory. He later continued his teaching and research as an associate professor in MIT's Electrical Engineering Department. He married Harriet Tiffany, with whom he had a son. In 1961, after the death of his first wife, he married his co-author, collaborator and former student, Domina Eberle Spencer, a professor of mathematics. They had one son. Moon retired from full-time teaching in the 1960s, but continued his research until his death in 1988.

Scientific contributions

Moon’s early career focused in optics applications for engineers. Collaborating with Spencer, he began researching electromagnetism and Amperian forces. The quantity of papers that followed culminated in Foundations of Electrodynamics,[3] unique for its physical insights, and two field theory books, which became standard references for many years. Much later, Moon and Spencer unified the approach to collections of data (vectors, tensors, etc.), with a concept they coined "holors".[2] Through their work, they became disillusioned with Albert Einstein's theory of relativity and sought neo-classical explanations for various phenomena.

Holors

Moon and Spencer invented the term "holor" (/ˈhlər/; Greek ὅλος "whole") for a mathematical entity that is made up of one or more "independent quantities", or "merates" (/ˈmrts/; Greek μέρος "part") as they are called in the theory of holors.[2][4][5] In modern parlance, holors are precisely multidimensional arrays of real numbers, and the terminology of holors is very rarely encountered. See the appendix of [6] for a concise description of holors.

Bibliography

Books

  • Parry Moon, The Scientific Basis of Illuminating Engineering, McGraw-Hill, 608pp. (1936) (ASIN B000J2QFAI).
  • Parry Moon, Lighting Design, Addison-Wesley Press, 191pp. (1948) (ASIN B0007DZUFA).
  • Parry Moon, A Proposed Musical Notation, (1952) (ASIN B0007JY81G).
  • Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, Foundations of Electrodynamics, D. Van Nostrand Co., 314pp. (1960) (ASIN B000OET7UQ).[3]
  • Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, Field Theory for Engineers, D. Van Nostrand Co., 540pp. (1961) (ISBN 978-0442054892).
  • Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, Field Theory Handbook: Including Coordinate Systems, Differential Equations and Their Solutions, Spring Verlag, 236pp. (1961) (ISBN 978-0387184302).
  • Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, Vectors, D. Van Nostrand Co., 334pp. (1965) (ASIN B000OCMWTW).
  • Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, Partial Differential Equations, D. C. Heath, 322pp. (1969) (ASIN B0006DXDVE).
  • Parry Moon, The Abacus: Its History, Its Design, Its Possibilities in the Modern World, D. Gordon & Breach Science Pub., 179pp. (1971) (ISBN 978-0677019604).
  • Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, The Photic Field, MIT Press, 267pp. (1981) (ISBN 978-0262131667).
  • Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, Theory of Holors, Cambridge University Press, 392pp. (1986) (ISBN 978-0521245852).[2]

Papers

Notes

References

  1. ^ Optics News, Volume 14, Optical Society of America, 1988, p. 3. [dead link]
  2. ^ a b c d Moon, Parry Hiram; Spencer, Domina Eberle (1986). Theory of Holors: A Generalization of Tensors. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-01900-2.
  3. ^ a b Parry Moon & Domina Eberle Spencer, Foundations of Electrodynamics, D. Van Nostrand Co., 314pp. (1960) (ASIN B000OET7UQ).
  4. ^ Moon, Parry Hiram; Spencer, Domina Eberle (1965). Vectors. D. Van Nostrand Co.
  5. ^ Spencer, Domina Eberle; Moon, Parry Hiram (1974), "A Unified Approach to Hypernumbers", in Cohen, Robert S.; Stachel, J.J.; Wartofsky, Marx W. (eds.), For Dirk Struik: Scientific, Historical and Political Essays in Honor of Dirk J. Struik, Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol. 15, Springer, Dordrecht, pp. 101–119, doi:10.1007/978-94-010-2115-9_9, ISBN 978-90-277-0379-8
  6. ^ Rivard, G. (June 1977). "Direct fast Fourier transform of bivariate functions". IEEE Transactions on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing. 25 (3): 250–252. doi:10.1109/TASSP.1977.1162951. ISSN 0096-3518.